


Howdy Neighbor!

by cablesscutie



Series: The Inevitable College AU [1]
Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Gen, random roommate assignments
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-11
Updated: 2017-08-11
Packaged: 2018-12-13 22:04:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11769312
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cablesscutie/pseuds/cablesscutie
Summary: Annabeth is not encouraged by the half-unpacked mess of her roommate's half of the dorm.  The guy that follows Rachel home from the common room doesn't put any of those fears to rest.  But still...college might be fun.





	Howdy Neighbor!

**Author's Note:**

> This is part one of an ongoing series that will be just sort of snapshots of the gang's undergrad life. Figured now that I've been in college a couple years I might as well take a stab at writing a college AU! If you have suggestions or requests for other one-shots in this 'verse, feel free to leave 'em in the comments and I might write you a little present ;)

Annabeth was apprehensive at best about how this roommate situation was going to work out. Granted, she hadn’t met the girl, only knew her by the possessions that were already haphazardly set up on one side of their tiny dorm room, but what she could surmise didn’t look promising. First of all - she’d only half unpacked. Clothes were hung in the closet, but there was just a pile of boots and sneakers at the bottom, and the desk sandwiched under the other lofted bed was strewn with notebooks of all sizes, tubes of lipstick, and homemade-looking jewelry. There was a pile of blank canvases in the corner, rolled up posters waiting to be pinned, and a Chegg box, presumably containing textbooks, but still sealed and shoved beside the dresser. Annabeth’s side, meanwhile, had been meticulously arranged already. Her blueprints and postcards were hung artfully, her desk was well-equipped with pens and an assortment of post-its in all colors and sizes. She had folded and hung her clothes, made her bed up with crisp new sheets, and was just finally settling in for an evening of Netflix.

And despite the fact that she’d been working for _hours_ \- classes started in just three days and she’d never manage to focus in a pile of boxes - she still hadn’t caught so much as a glimpse of her roomie. It was coming up on midnight, and her eyes were starting to droop. She hadn’t wanted to fall asleep before meeting Rachel, but it was starting to look like that would be the case. There were sweatpants involved - point of no return. It was, in fact, just when Annabeth was returning her laptop to the desk to get cozy in a permanent kind of way, that she heard giggling headed down the hall towards her door.

The two people sounded like a girl and a guy and Annabeth braced herself to start college off by arguing with her strange roommate about sexiling on short notice. The door beeped and the lock clicked open, and just like that, she was face to face with the stranger she would be living with for the next year.

“Oh, hey!” Rachel smiled widely as her laughter died down. The guy behind her seemed to trip on nothing but his own feet, barking out a,

“Fuck!” but caught himself with a hand on Rachel’s shoulder, waving at her with the free one and said, “Hey.”

“I’m Rachel, this is Percy. I found him downstairs in a fight with the vending machine.”

“My Doritos got stuck and I was out of quarters,” he explained, then pried apart the sides of the small blue bag, filling the room with the scent of cool ranch. Annabeth wrinkled her nose.

“That’s a real Shakespearean tragedy you have there.”

“Oh no,” he said, licking cheese powder off his thumb with a pop that set her nerves on edge. “Definitely a comedy. Since Rach here knocked ‘em down with a Kit Kat and reunited us both with our true loves.” He crunched down on another chip with a blissful hum. Rachel looked at him in surprise.

“Dude, are you a theater major or something?” He probably could be, honestly. He had the same kind of manic-yet-chill energy that had followed the drama kids at her high school.

“Nah, I’m undeclared. My step dad’s an English teacher though, so I know _wayyyy_ more about good ol’ Willy Shakes than I ever wanted to.” Rachel snorted. 

“Willy Shakes, I’m using that one.”

“You got a major?” Percy asks Annabeth.

“Architecture.” She points needlessly at the blueprint on the wall. Percy’s eyebrows go up.

“Shit, that’s intense. I’m from New York though, so I appreciate a, uh, well-built...um, building.”

“You can just say it sounds boring, most people do.”

“No! No, it’s cool. I’m just...too awkward to live?”

“Got that right,” Rachel tells him. “Did you draw that yourself?” she asks Annabeth, who nods. “Oh I’ve so gotta pick your brain for my drawing class, sketchbooks are so not my thing.”

“Let me guess, painter?” Annabeth smiles wryly, nodding at the canvases.

“Fully. Like, doodles are one thing, but when I’m doing my real shit, it’s paints all the way. There’s just something so primal about it, ya know? I don’t feel like I’m losing any of the feeling between what’s inside me and what ends up on the canvas, but drawing always seems to take it right out of me.”

“Stuff just gets lost in translation.”

“Exactly! Ugh, you so get it. We’re gonna be cool, I can tell.” From the back pocket of her shorts, she produces the Kit Kat that brought Percy to them. She unwraps it and snaps it apart, offering half to Annabeth.

“Thanks.” Annabeth finds herself warming as she smiles and accepts the candy. It’s crunchy and almost sickly sweet, but her mouth lights up at the taste. Percy holds out the doritos from where he’s perched on top of Rachel’s dresser, and she takes one with a smile. She thinks it’s been several years since she ate one, deciding that she didn’t need junk food since it didn’t really taste all that good and she’d be much better off without it. She almost moans. “Fuck, I forgot how good these are,” she groans. Rachel flicks Percy’s arm.

“Dude, quit seducing my roommate with junk food, I’ve gotta _sleep_ here.” He let out a spluttering sound that was part choking part laughing, the tips of his ears going red.

“I was - I would do _no such thing_.” He winks at Annabeth. Rachel pinches him again, this time in the armpit. “Ow! I said I wouldn’t! Geez, it was a joke!.” Percy yawns, stretching his arms, and his phone buzzes in his pocket. “Oh! I gotta take this, friend from home. Talk to you guys later!” He accepts the call and moves to let himself out. “Hey man, what’s up?” As the door closes behind him, he waves and calls out “I’m room 818!” The door locks and the muffled sound of his voice trails off down the hallway. Annabeth turns to Rachel.

“Do you make it a habit to adopt strays?” Rachel shrugs.

“A habit implies intent. It just kinda happens.”

“Good to know.”

“He seems cool though.” Annabeth fixes her with a look. “Okay, well not _cool_ cool, but like, I get a good vibe. Doesn’t come off like some of the other douche canoes.”

“I’ll give him that at least. You’re definitely gonna have to bring the cool factor to this group though. Cuz I was fully about to crawl into bed after a nice long documentary when you guys showed up.”

“Oh my god, I’m sorry!” Rachel puts a small warm hand on her bicep. “We didn’t mean to keep you up.” Annabeth pats Rachel’s hand.

“Nah, don’t worry about it. It’s good for me.” She crawls into bed and closes her eyes, letting herself be lulled to sleep by the sounds of rushing water as Rachel brushes her teeth across the hall, the rustle of fabric as she changes and pulls back the covers, creaking wood of her bed as she climbs the slats up to the top and settles. Annabeth thinks this is going to work out just fine.


End file.
